


their journey

by interstellarbeams



Series: their journey [1]
Category: Aladdin (2019)
Genre: Abu (Disney) - Freeform, Announcements, F/M, Married Couple, Married Life, Picnics, Romantic Fluff, Slice of Life, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-01
Updated: 2019-10-01
Packaged: 2020-11-08 17:04:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20839016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/interstellarbeams/pseuds/interstellarbeams
Summary: Aladdin and Jasmine share a romantic picnic but Jasmine has more than relaxation on her mind.





	their journey

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to Katie for being my beta! I apprectiate all you do for me! And to Kayla for always being encouraging and loving everything I write.
> 
> This is a prequel to “a family of his own” 
> 
> Kudos and comments are appreciated! <3

The sun shone down on them, gleaming like a newly minted gold coin and lending a cheerfulness to the advantageous day. Fluffy white clouds floated overhead like the ships they had passed heading into the Agrabahian harbor as they had made their way out to sea.

Jasmine’s new fleet had taken many years to achieve — from idea to conception, drawing plans to building, construction to cast-off — her dream of creating a way to explore outside of Agrabah and bring wealth and success back to her people through trade had come to fruition and she couldn’t be prouder as she sat on the deck of her flagship. 

The shipyard had drawn sailors and builders from ports all over the world to help in the construction of the Sultan of Agrabah’s grand plan. Now multiple languages combined around her as the sailors conversed in a comforting, multilingual symphony in order to keep her flagship headed in the right direction as they set off on their first journey.

This journey wasn’t of great importance despite the celebratory atmosphere. The first trip was to test the maneuverability and to make sure there were no leaks in the hull or rips in the sails. Everything was new from the Agrabahian flag at the top of the mainmast to the soon-to-be barnacle encrusted bilge, but you could never be too careful. Jasmine certainly didn’t want her fleet to sink as soon as it got out onto the open seas.

She had decided to make their first sojourn out of the harbor a picnic. After being made sultan and marrying Aladdin, she had immediately started on the plans to build her fleet in addition to the day-to-day business of ruling and creating the Agrabah she had always dreamed of ruling as a little girl, so she rarely had time to relax.

The awning that had been erected on the forecastle, snapped in the swift ocean breeze and she drew her attention from the expanse of blue skies and sapphire waves to focus on her husband, who rested with his head on her lap. 

The shade of the awning kept the afternoon sun’s beams from burning their skin, but the warmth underneath had made them both drowsy and she smothered a yawn as she gazed down at his peaceful face. His dark hair was in need of a trim and she brushed his bangs back from his forehead, surprised that he didn’t stir at her touch.

Jasmine glanced over at Abu, who laid on his own cushion, to see him watching her seriously, one small hand outstretched. She reached into the bowl that rested near her hip to pick a grape off a bunch and tossed it toward him. He caught it swiftly and popped it into his mouth, chewing voraciously as he chattered at her. Jasmine assumed it was his monkey way of saying “thank you” and she responded. 

Despite the sounds of the bustling ship that surrounded them and the sometimes raucous shouts of the sailors, Jasmine felt like she was in her own private, if temporary, paradise. The patterned rug underneath them was plush, the water in the nearby jug was cool and the food spread out before them was plentiful and fresh. She wanted for nothing … except maybe the undivided attention of her sleeping husband. 

She picked up the ostrich feather fan that she had been fanning herself with earlier and suddenly got an idea. She plucked one of the feathers off and leaned over Aladdin. Her long hair trailed over her shoulders and dropped to the rug on both sides of him as she inched the feather closer to his nose. 

His eyebrows furrowed at first at the barely there touch of the feather, but he didn’t wake up. His head, although in a comfortable position for him on the top of her thigh, was making her leg go to sleep, so she pressed the feather even closer, hoping to wake him up with the tickling down. 

This time his nose twitched and he moved his head away, attempting to escape the ticklish torture, but Jasmine wasn’t giving up. She stuck the feather underneath his nose and he snorted, swatting at her hand and she gasped out a laugh, unable to hold it in at the sound that he made and the cute way he wrinkled his nose. 

He sat up abruptly, almost knocking her  
over, and she fell back against the mass of pillows that she had been reclining against. Jasmine pressed a hand against her stomach as she laughed, Abu adding his monkey chatter to her hilarity as he clambered onto his owner’s shoulder. 

“Wha—?” He brushed his hair off of his forehead and looked back at her and spying the feather in her hand, he broke out into a grin. “Oh, I see how it is. Interrupting a man while he’s sleeping. Very nice.” 

“I’m sorry,” Jasmine continued to laugh, “I couldn’t help it. You were so cute asleep, but … I missed you and my leg was going to sleep.” 

Jasmine pressed a hand to her head and relaxed further against the silk pillows that were warm from the sun. She felt ill for a moment and stubbornly tried to will it away. She blew out a breath, trying to wait out the momentary whirling of her head by closing her eyes.

“Are you OK? Still seasick?” Aladdin asked as he crawled over to her. She had been sick earlier in the day and had to empty her stomach over the ship’s side almost as soon as they had climbed onboard. 

“Yes, I — I just felt dizzy for a moment. It will pass, I’m sure.” 

Aladdin picked up the fan that she had discarded and started fanning her with it, while Abu tried to grab the feathered end of it with quick fingers every time it flew back toward him. 

“Abu!” Aladdin scolded him, but Jasmine laughed at their pet’s antics. 

Rajah had been left back home with her father for obvious reasons and she had learned to enjoy the company of the quick-witted, slightly spoiled monkey over the past few years as they had become a strange but happy family. 

“Let him have fun. I’m sure a cruise isn’t very amusing for a monkey unless he’s eating or climbing the forecastle.” 

Aladdin gave up trying to cool her off and tossed the fan toward Abu, but the monkey squeaked, scampering out of the way as it landed too close to him.

“Sorry,” Aladdin cringed as he reclined, leaning on an elbow beside Jasmine.

Abu came closer after a moment, but apparently his interest had been piqued only when the fan had been in motion and he turned his back on it to curl up on his cushion. 

Aladdin shot Jasmine a rueful look, but she shrugged and closed her eyes, the heat and her dizziness combining to make her feel like she might throw up again.

Aladdin shifted next to her and she heard the sound of water being poured.

“Here, this will help.” 

She opened her eyes to see him holding a cup and he lifted it to her lips, allowing her to drink from it. The cool water was delicious and she hadn’t even realized how thirsty she was until that moment.

“Thank you.”

She heard the splashing of water again and then the press of a damp cloth to her forehead and then her neck. She sighed at the welcome sensation and the accompanying breeze that blew underneath the awning and sent the tent tassels to dancing. 

“Better?” His forehead furrowed as he pressed the damp cloth to her skin and she couldn’t help but smile at how cute his worry was. 

She never would have expected to have a husband who was so kind, supportive and attentive before she met Aladdin and she was grateful that she hadn’t had to choose someone who was selfish and only cared about _his_ needs. Her husband was a prize whose worth was far above that of any man of royal birth who had paraded through Agrabah’s streets in hopes for her hand. 

“Much better.”

Aladdin pulled the closest cushion toward him and laid back down and she scooted closer to lay her head down on his chest. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and bent his head to kiss her. The brush of his bangs against her forehead tickled, but she didn’t pull away. The press of his lips was sweet and as welcome as the drink of water he had given her, while the strength of his arms surrounding her made her feel safe. 

She pulled back and sighed happily as she smoothed a hand over his chest and breathed him in. There was nowhere else she would rather be than with him, right here, right now. 

“What are you thinking about?”

“Nothing really. Just how happy I am to be here with you.” 

“Being happy is nothing?” Aladdin asked, a twinkle in his eye as he teased her. 

Jasmine rolled her eyes, “I didn’t say that. Happiness is a feeling. I was _feeling_ happy, not thinking about being happy.” 

The cries of seagulls above them as they followed the ship, drew his attention away for a moment and she looked up at him, admiring the curve of his eyebrows and the strength of his cheekbones.

Not only was her husband kind and sweet but he was also nice to look at. His dimple always appeared when he smiled, it most definitely did when he laughed and she couldn’t help but be proud of how handsome he was. And he was _hers_. She was lucky in so many ways and she didn’t think she could have wished for a better life even if she had a chance to rub a magic lamp. 

He turned his attention back to her and caught her staring but Jasmine didn’t demure like a blushing maid, instead she grinned up at him saucily. The dimple she had just been thinking of flashed quickly in his cheek before he was flipping her over, his body pressed to hers. The fruit bowl toppled over, sent flying by his elbow. Pomegranates, grapes and star fruit tumbled out onto the rug but the coarse fibers didn’t let them get far.

Jasmine’s laughter turned to a smile, as she stared up into his beautiful brown eyes before he bent to kiss her again and she wrapped her arms around his neck and got lost in the heat of the moment. 

————

Jasmine hadn’t meant to fall asleep but the heat and her tiredness combined to pull her under and the next thing she knew she was opening her eyes from an impromptu nap.

She stirred, moving her head so that she could catch a glimpse of where the sun was in the sky, much lower than she had expected, and she sighed as she rubbed at her eyes. 

“Looks like someone’s awake, Abu.” Aladdin stated, cheerfully, “Did you enjoy your nap, sleepyhead?”

Jasmine glared up at her husband but he distracted her with the soft brush of his thumb against her side, where he held her close against him. 

“Why did you let me fall asleep?” She asked, sitting up and brushing at her hair which was messy from sleep and other activities.

“Seemed only fair after you let me sleep against you earlier.” Aladdin sat up and shrugged before reaching for a pomegranate that rested on the rug where it had dropped earlier.

She wanted to be mad at him but he was so considerate and she loved him even if she felt like her queenly persona had been shattered by him allowing her to sleep on the job.

“Come on, it's a picnic, nobody is going to care that you fell asleep,” He said as he shined the rounded fruit on his sleeve before cutting into it with a small knife that he pulled from his sash. 

She had no idea how he found it so easy to read her but the talent never ceased to astound her, just like his quick sleight of hand that he had showed her multiple times but still managed to use to sneakily remove her hair pins when she wasn’t looking.

Aladdin offered half of the pomegranate to Abu who happily dug his tiny hands into the fruit and shoved a handful of seeds into his mouth. Her husband popped a few pomegranate seeds into his own mouth and she allowed herself to relax despite the nausea she kept experiencing. Aladdin offered her the fruit but she shook her head. The glistening reddish-white seeds, which she normally would find appetizing, held no interest for her and the sight made her want to be sick. 

Aladdin gave her a weird look but he kept eating until there wasn’t a single seed left. His large appetite was probably not satisfied, but it was just like him to share whatever he had with those around him.

The nausea suddenly became overpowering and she stood up quickly,  
hoping she could make it to the rail before she lost her lunch. 

“Jasmine?” Aladdin called after her but she was afraid if she opened her mouth to tell him she was fine, there would be no holding back. 

She headed down the short set of steps and walked as quickly as she could to the edge of the ship where the brisk wind whipped at her hair, sending the long strands flying across her face and she pulled at them ineffectually. 

“Your Majesty? Are you okay?” A young sailor stepped to her side but he immediately moved away when Aladdin came clambering down the steps and rushed to her side.

“Hey, are you feeling okay?” He asked, gathering her hair back from her face and neck as he pressed against her side. Normally, that would have bothered her, to have anyone crowd her, but his presence was comforting and his concern was sweet. She only wished she could attempt to appear like these sailors’s strong ruler today and not a weakened, sickly woman but apparently that wasn’t going to happen. 

“I’m fine.” The nauseous feeling had passed with the brisk scent of the salt breeze but she was afraid to leave the railing and have to run right back. 

“Jasmine, you don’t look fine. You’re pale, you keep throwing up, are you sure you’re okay?”

She pushed away from the railing then and lifted her skirts so that she wouldn’t trip up the steps and ruin her already precarious position. Aladdin dropped his hold on her hair and took the steps two at a time as he followed after her.

“I’m sorry. I just— I’m feeling out of sorts and I don’t like looking weak in front of them.”

“Jasmine… you don’t look weak. I’m sure you aren’t the first person to be seasick on a ship these sailors have sailed on.” He pressed a hand to her arm but she pulled away from him, ignoring the quick look of hurt that flashed across his face.

She sat back down, her skirts pooling around her like the fruit that had yet to be picked up from the rug. She lifted her knees and pressed her forehead to them, tears suddenly threatening to spill from her eyes. Her emotions were all over the place and she hated to cry but it was like rain pooling off a slanted roof — inevitable. Abu made a soft, concerned noise as he came closer but she didn’t lift her head.

Aladdin crossed the deck, his boots ringing against the shining wood then became immediately muffled by the rug as he moved closer. She felt the touch of his hand to the top of her head and she lifted her eyes to his, tears slowly streaming down her face. 

He dropped down in front of her, moving the pomegranates and star fruit from in between them and tossing them to the side. If she wasn’t feeling so out of sorts, she might have laughed at the mess he was making and his complete disregard for the private escape that she had tried so hard to create for them, but she knew he didn’t care about the atmosphere or the food at the moment. 

She moved to cross her legs in front of her, like the snake charmers would sit on their hand-woven mats, and picked a piece of dust off of her dress that wasn’t there, just so she wouldn’t have to meet her husband’s eyes. 

“What’s wrong?” He scooted closer, his knee pressing up against hers.

Her stomach felt like it was twisted into knots but it wasn’t the nausea this time. She knew her husband was a smart man and he wouldn’t stay oblivious for much longer but she didn’t know how to say what she needed to say. 

“I— there’s something I have to tell you.”

“What is it?” 

She hesitated, twisting her fingers together in her lap. She knew that she had to tell him, that she couldn’t hold off without him eventually finding out but she was afraid. She wished that she had her mother of even Dalia there, to offer her comfort and advice but they weren’t and so she had to do it alone. 

“You know you can tell me anything, anything at all and I’ll listen.” He grasped her hand and drew it towards him. 

Of course she knew that, he always supported her and listened to her. No matter what, he was always there. She trusted him, _so why was it so hard just to tell him?_

His fingers squeezed hers and she smiled slightly as she squeezed his fingers back. 

“It’s just me here. No one else. No one is going to judge you or think you’re an unfit ruler. Now, I’m telling you, these tough old sea-dogs might be bigger than me, but I will take them all on if it would make you feel better.”

“You always make me feel better.” She replied back, lips trembling as she once again felt tears forming.

“Good. Now, tell me what’s wrong.”

She blew out an anxious breath then steeled herself, it was now or never.

“I’m not seasick.”

“What? But why— are you sick? Has the court physician been to see you because I haven’t heard anything about it. I—“ 

“Aladdin— no, I’m not seasick. The boat wasn’t even in motion when I threw up this morning. And I’m not sick, well, not in the usual way.”

Aladdin’s eyebrows furrowed and he looked at her curiously, quizzical wrinkles forming on his forehead.

“Then what—?” 

“We’re having a baby,” she blurted it out, nerves tumbling in her belly, “a soon-to-be prince or princess.”

Aladdin’s mouth dropped open and for a moment she thought he might pass out, his face going white before it filled up with color again.

“A— A baby? Our baby?” He asked, like he couldn’t believe his ears. He blinked rapidly like his brain was trying too hard to process such astounding news and she couldn’t help but laugh.

Jasmine nodded her head, rapidly, unable to stop more tears from rolling down her face as Aladdin carefully wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.

He cradled her reverently and Jasmine knew, right then and there, that it didn’t matter what happened next because he would be just as gentle and caring with their child as he was with her.

He pulled back after a moment, one hand on each of her arms as he looked her over acting as if he expected her body to change as quickly as her new, emotional mood swings. 

“Are you sure? I mean— how do you know?”

“I know.” She smiled up at him, a wide grin forming as the reality hit her as well. “Our baby. I can’t believe it.”

“Me either.” He quietly breathed, as he gazed at her with wide eyes, the evening breeze pulling at his bangs and whipping  
the tail of his loose jacket back and forth. 

He leaned in closer, his joyful smile filling her chest with warm fuzzies like the caterpillars that crawled all over the flower beds in the palace gardens.  
His dimple appeared as his grin grew and she couldn’t help but wonder if their little boy or girl would have a matching one, just like their daddy.

She wiped at her cheeks, the salt in her tears leaving sticky tracks down her face, making her skin feel tight as she continued to smile at her husband.

He pressed his hands to either side of her cheeks and rested his forehead against hers. His palms were warm against her skin but the warmth in his eyes was better than a coal brazier on a cold desert night.

“I love you.” He spoke quietly, thumbs stroking against her cheeks. “I didn’t think I could be happier than I was on the day that we married but this… I— I feel like my heart is going to burst.”

“Mine too,” She pulled back and grabbed one of his hands away from her cheek to press it over her heart where it beat rapidly with excitement, then she moved it lower to her belly where a newly formed life grew.

Tears filled his eyes as she looked at him, his hand pressed to where their child’s own heart beat inside her.

“I love you too. I— if I knew how to tell you just how much, I think it would take a piece of parchment longer than the breadth of the sea.” 

“That’s a lot of water.” He teased, eyes bright with tears and happiness.

“It doesn’t feel like as much as I cried today. I’m sorry.” She chuckled, quietly wiping at her face again. 

“No. No more sorries.”

She almost opened her mouth to say sorry again but caught herself before she could utter it.

“Can I kiss you?” He asked, his wide, brown eyes soft and warm.

“Of course you can. You never have to ask.” 

He bent closer, his hands pressed against the top of her legs, the length of their thighs keeping their bodies from touching as their lips met. His kiss was soft but also rough from his stubble and she shifted her legs to the side in an attempt to get closer, as he moved to wrap his hands, warm and secure, around her waist as he drew her body against his. 

The taste of his lips felt like coming home and flying high on a magic carpet all at once and she sighed as he moved to cradle her head in his hand, his fingers slipping through the strands of her hair like grains of sand in an hourglass.

He pulled back after a moment and she caught a glimpse of the reddish pink rays of sunset, over his shoulder, blazing across the city as they entered Agrabah’s harbor. 

_Home_, they were going home and soon there would be one more person on their journey filled with love, laughter and maybe a little magic.


End file.
